Recent public health emergencies involving anthrax, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and shortages of influenza vaccine have dramatized the need for such public health measures as outbreak investigations, contact tracing, quarantine, isolation, and rationing. On the public policy level, the justifications for restrictive public health measures have been discussed extensively (1-5). However, less attention has been given to clinical dilemmas that front-line physicians will face… CONTINUE READING